


Waking Up

by cryptidturtle



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types, tmnt 2012 - Fandom
Genre: Amputation, Dissection, Gen, Government Experimentation, Mad Scientists, Major Character Injury, Medical Experimentation, Medical Trauma, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Ouch, Torture, post season five, ramble-y nonsense, shitty au bullshit, wow as im tagging this im questioning my writing choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 08:10:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14666940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidturtle/pseuds/cryptidturtle
Summary: a snippet of an angsty au that i made with my friendset post season five leo and donnie are captured by a government organization interested in the turtles' mutations and subjected to experiments, during one of these experiments donnie is injured past the point of recovery and has his subconscious transfered into an AI of sorts, leo has no idea of donnie's fate.





	Waking Up

Leonardo dimly processed the bright florescent light burning into his eyelids, a weak groan escaped his damaged vocal cords before he could think to stop it. His head pounded, and his senses were garbled, and he just barely grasped onto consciousness before he could slip back under. It was like he was underwater, a haziness dripped over him that prevented him thinking clearly. Gotta love being drugged. Leo swallowed thickly and forced his tired and dry eyes open to scan his surroundings. There wasn’t much of a point in feigning unconsciousness anyway. The people who captured them had plenty of fancy monitors that kept track of his vitals and let the scientists know when he was awake. If Donnie wasn’t the unfortunate test subject number two in this hellhole he was certain that his brother would’ve practically drooled over all this government tech. Oh, right. Donnie.

His chest felt tight just thinking about it, his lungs constricting and his stomach squirming with nausea as the drug induced fog lifted enough for him to remember what had happened. Oh god. Leo had hoped desperately that Donnie was okay, made countless excuses and possible ideas to quell his ever present and growing anxiety. Tried to explain to himself that his brother was fine and the reason he hadn’t come back from whatever nightmare of an experiment he’d been taken for was merely because the scientists had some additional tests to run or science-y jargon questions that only Donnie understood about their biology. His little brother was fine. But his hope had begun to wane. It was hard to tell time in the facility they were kept in, the bright and stark hospital-like atmosphere giving them no indication of how long it had been since they were captured. Anesthesia and other cocktails of drugs keeping them from causing too much trouble or escaping, their weapons long since confiscated and done who knows what with. Leo couldn’t keep track of time here, but he wasn’t stupid, he knew Donnie had been gone far too long. The silence was eating him up inside, being dragged back in to their cell again and again after some horror show of an experiment he’d been subjected to only to find his brother not there. He felt like he was drowning in the spiral and endless loop of anxieties and rage and resignation that only his brother had been able to pull him out of.

The scientists had gotten cocky. Either that or they didn’t really care. Whatever was contained in the syringe they injected him with that made him lose consciousness clearly wasn’t strong enough to keep him under for long. Maybe they just miscalculated the dosage. Leo was just relieved he awoke after the operation as someone donning a surgical mask finished stitching up his throat. The nauseating pain aside he had no earthly clue just what they did to his throat, he personally didn’t know if he could stomach finding out. Leo’s vocal cords were already damaged beyond repair by the Shredder, wasn’t like it was a big deal anymore. He was surprised to not feel the familiar weight of restraints holding him down to the cold metal table. They probably assumed he’d be out long enough that they didn’t need them. The pain wasn’t what bothered him, but rather what he saw when his eyes flickered open. Off to the side, near a few bloodied tools on a surgical table sat a clear container. As his eyes focused, a sickening pit in his stomach settled with a lurch and emotion cut off his oxygen. Inside the container was a three fingered hand submerged in some liquid he could only assume was to preserve it. If it hadn’t been for the fact the turtle couldn’t remember the last time he had solid food, he was positive he would’ve vomited. He knew that hand. He gave that hand enthusiastic high-threes after a mission well done. He gave that hand reassuring squeezes after sleepless nights and mutually overworking themselves. He recognized the faded burn scar on one of the knuckles that Donnie had gotten when they were 12 and his brother had been given his first Bunsen Burner and was still learning how to use it. That was his brother’s hand.  
All struggling hope that he had of his brother still being alive shriveled up and died when he laid eyes upon that container. It was only cemented after he shot up, stumbling as the drugs in his system protested the sudden movement before finding his footing and looking eyes with the surprised scientists, registering the fear in their eyes. They knew what they did, knew that he knew what they did to his brother. And they were terrified. Leonardo wasn’t a fan of killing, it was the ninja way to avoid it whenever possible. On the rare occasions he was forced to, it always weighed heavily on his mind, he’d clean his swords compulsively as if to wash away what he did. But that resolve went out the window the mere moment someone endangered his brothers. He fed of their fear, it only made his grief and rage more powerful. God, he wished he had his swords but the bloody scalpel and years of honed training would have to do. The world faded into the background, blood pounding in his ears and emotions strangling him. Leo didn’t have a plan, he didn’t really need one anymore. Donnie was gone, the others would be left wondering what happened to their two brothers. He didn’t care anymore, he just wanted to take down as many of these sick bastards as possible until he was overpowered and probably put down for causing so much trouble. It was sheer adrenaline and determination that was keeping him going, fighting off the remaining effects of the drugs and numbing the pain in his throat that no doubt was a result of him straining the stitches. The turtle now understood Raph a bit better now, having such an outpour of emotions that were so strong and volatile that felt like he was drowning; with the only solution being using them and sending them outward. He wasn’t sure how many people he’d taken out before a force slammed into him, sending him off kilter and dragging him back to reality. His arms were painfully wrenched behind his back and the scalpel torn from his desperate grip. He thrashed violently, attempting to voice his protest but still far too out of it to be able to tell if the noise reached anyone’s ears. His skull collided with the hard tile of the floor, sending his vision spinning out of focus as he was wrestled to the floor. Leo felt a sharp prick in his neck before darkness engulfed his vision.

His breath hitched as he blinked rapidly to dispel any tears that threatened to escape his eyes, the drug induced haze finally clearing as he recalled the events. It was a miracle he was still alive right now, or more so a curse. Of course, these assholes wouldn’t kill him, with Donnie gone they needed him, still had some use for him that meant keeping him around. Now that the rage was gone, all he felt was a deep and plaguing sadness that threatened to pull him under waves of utter despair. His entire body ached, his everything hurt to say the least, his throat pulsed in pain, and he could feel various bruises mottling his body and beginning to form. A sharp and dizzying agonizing feeling was sprouting just above his knee on his bad leg, must’ve gotten hurt in the fight or something. His other leg felt numb, a dull throbbing traveling down it. Leo strained against the bindings keeping him still against the cool metal table, he had a sneaking suspicion that the scientists weren’t going to make the mistake of not having restraints on him anytime soon. His eyes scanned his body, searching for injuries or anything to occupy his attention to distract him from the grief threatening to bubble to the surface. Then his eyes reached his legs. He sucked in a sharp breath as his vision tunneled, an invisible force keeping him ramrod still and squeezing the life out of him making his lungs scream. His bad leg as he referred to it, curtesy of the Shredder was amputated just above the knee. His old scars that traveled down it now ended prematurely and past that point of stitches that was dizzying to look at was… nothing. Leonardo’s breathing quickened, he assumed if they decided to keep him alive there would be repercussions or contingency plans put in place for what he did and to ensure it would never happen again but… he hadn’t expected this. He forced his gaze away from where the rest of his leg should be, looking over to his bad leg’s still intact twin. A deep and fresh scar traveled down his shin that made the pit of anxiety in his stomach spike up. He took a shaking breath and attempted to move it. A dizzying blossom of pain rose up from inside the tendons in his leg that kept him from trying again. Defeated, he let his head rest back against the table, muttering a string of curses he would’ve lectured his brothers for saying. Leo screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He forced himself to inhale and then exhale, trying to fight the panic and rising tide of emotions that pulled at him. His brother was gone, and he was going to die here. 

A scientist’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he watched the screen in front of him being filled with line after line of code. Transferring organic consciousnesses was never easy but this wasn’t the first nor last time their organization had done this. He scanned the lines, a thoughtful frown on his face as he analyzed his work. After a moment he pressed enter and watched as the programming took effect. A satisfying beep sounded from the computer and he let a smug smile curl onto his face. “Hello Donatello,” He began, speaking to the salvaged consciousness of a failed experiment, “it seems you can still be some use to us after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you guys think of this nonsense, comments and kudos are appreciated and encourage me to keep writing. ill be happy to answer any questions!


End file.
